Weta "Geographica" 1999

...With the encouragement of Shihad’s Australian management, the four-song EP was released in August 1999 and reached No.12 on the NZ Singles Chart. It sold around 5,000 copies in Australia. The original planned artwork on the sleeve of the EP, taken by New Zealand photographer Jono Rotman, was apparently pulled due to its graphic nature. The images showed a scantily clad woman and a man wearing pink nappies, tied to a bed frame...

…In 1997, Aaron Tokona temporarily filled in on guitar for Australian band The Superjesus after original guitarist Chris Tennent left the band. Although he declined a permanent position to focus on Weta, The Superjesus manager Dan Hennessy took an interest in the band. On taking the position as A&R chief at Warner Music Australia, and upon recommendation from Shihad’s Tom Larkin, Hennessy swiftly added Weta to their roster. “It’s so refreshing to meet people who are willing to work hard and who have no ego,” Hennessy told NZ Musician (June/July 2000). Management of the band was passed on to Hennessy’s colleague Steven Betts at Aloha Management. With the label and management by their side, the band followed in the footsteps of Shihad and made the move to Melbourne. They even found themselves house sitting for the band while they were away in Canada recording The General Electric. "We deliberated about it for a long time and we thought at the very least we should give it a go. Shihad had paved the way over there and at least we were going over to some people that we knew. Also it was this opportunity to better the music, to better the band.” (Clinton den Heyer, NZ Herald, September 2000) Within eight weeks of being in Melbourne, Weta found themselves on a local tour circuit playing 40 dates around the country. Unfortunately they were delegated to playing the early slot, just as families were sitting down to enjoy their dinner. Adapting to the situation, they introduced middle-of-the-road covers into their set. As the momentum built and with support from Warner, the band evolved from a project to a full time job. They undertook further national tours in support of the Natural Compression EP and eventually a six-date tour with US rock band Filter. The touring continued through 1999 and 2000 with the band making several trips back and forth across the ditch for support slots, including Australian bands Regurgitator, Silverchair, The Living End and Powderfinger, for whom Aaron provided guest vocals for the album Odyssey Number 5. Armed with around 15 songs, the band set up in Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios to record their debut album at the turn of the century. Shopping around for producers, they recorded a demo of ‘So Far So Close’ with US producer and engineer Jonathan Burnside. The track saw a soft release on the Homegrown compilation given away by music retailer Sounds. It also became a regular acoustic track in the band’s set. With no immediate connection with Burnside, and a preference for analogue recording techniques, the band sought out different collaborators.  “We were trying out this American producer and it wasn’t really our vibe. He used quite a lot of technology and stuff like that.” (Aaron Tokona, NZ Musician June/July 2000) The band eventually enlisted Englishman Steve James, a former collaborator with The Sex Pistols and The Clash, who was chosen for his ability to capture the all important element of “vibe”. - to be continued - audioculture...

trax:
1. Let It Go 2. Calling On 3. Geographica 4. If I Will I Can 5. Sweet Surrender 6. Conversations 7. Snapshot 8. Hole 9. Sleep 10. Got The Ju 11. Missed Again (Joy's Song)
…served by Gaius & BigGray…